2011 Carolinas Outbreak
*NOTE: The images I selected were selected at random. Credit to those who uploaded those photos themselves. I don't own any of them. Please don't delete this page for this.* This outbreak was by far one of the worst tornado outbreaks in the Carolinas history yet. It included several of the deadliest tornadoes to have ever scoured through either of those states. This storm system also brought large numbers of floods, with at least 101 tornadoes confirmed, including 9 EF4s and two EF5 tornadoes overall. Around 225 direct fatalities and well over 5,900 injuries occurred within over 65 counties across both states, about 40-45% of all 146 counties combined from both states Carolina has 100 counties and South Carolina has 46. Numerous wedge tornadoes took shape during afternoon and nighttime hours, and 2 of the three deadliest tornadoes in the entire outbreak happened after 8:45 PM Eastern Daylight Time. With over $4 billion in damages from the twisters alone, one tornado also caused a major nuclear disaster that killed an additional 511 people on May 26th. Notable Tornadoes 25th At least 21 twisters, 2 violent and 5 killer, slammed across several densely-populated areas. Sixteen people were killed this day, four indirectly and 12 directly. Taylortown-Pinehurst-Aberdeen, NC A major tornado developed on the early morning of May 25th, 2011, at just past 15 til 5 AM, the tornado touched down just over one-tenth of a mile north the intersection of NC Route 73 and Beulah Hill Church Road, almost 4 miles north-northwest of the downtown areas of Taylortown, heading a direct path for the Taylortown area at approximately 15 miles per hour at the time. About three miles in its path, it left multiple well-built homes either entirely deroofed or collapsed. There was a mix of high-end EF2 and low-end EF3 damage at that area, meaning the tornado intensified rapidly just before hitting that area. It then hit the downtown areas of Taylortown, and caused major damage to multiple large buildings, and many well-built homes in that area. It was now at the peak width of almost half of a mile wide, and just after hitting peak strength in the downtown area of Taylortown, it immediately started hitting multiple suburbs of Pinehurst, a bordering area of Taylortown, and caused significant to severe damage across about 75% of the suburban areas of Pinehurst. Multiple large well-built structures, including the Pinehurst Resort, were sustaining massive damage to walls, roofs, and almost all of the multi-floor homes near those areas had their top floor gone or almost entirely destroyed. Two fatalities occurred in Pinehurst, but surprisingly, nobody was killed in Taylortown. Just after hitting Pinehurst, it turned to go more in a southeast direction towards Aberdeen and sped up to around 50mph in ground speed. The tornado also became rain-wrapped at around 5:00 AM, just over a minute before hitting Taylortown, and around 12 minutes after hitting Taylortown, the tornado directly hit downtown Aberdeen, and leveled almost every single structure in that area. It then turned southward and dissipated just over 1.5 miles south of Aberdeen. It left at least 257 homes destroyed, with 356 damaged, along with two fatalities, both in Pinehurst when a mobile home was leveled, and at least 44 injuries took place. The tornado also started a small fire from an explosion in the Thermal Metal Treating facility in Aberdeen, as it killed one civilian and injured at least 30 others indirectly. Thankfully, the fire was quickly extinguished. However, at least $35 million was done in the tornado's path of 12.7 miles in length and about 0.5 miles in width. Mauldin-Simpsonville, SC Tornado tornado This small but deadly tornado formed about a mile northwest of Mauldin, or on US 276, and quickly intensified before hitting Mauldin. It hit Mauldin at around 5:53 AM Eastern, and caused very low-end EF2 damage, and killed one civilian in a mobile home when it was flipped over. Around 10 people in Mauldin were also injured, with about twenty-two homes destroyed, with at least 64 other homes damaged. Almost $1.5 million of damage was done to the town of Mauldin, and it crossed within the junction of US 276 and Interstate 385, and about 5 minutes later, hit peak strength and hit Simpsonville. It dissipated just after hitting small portions of suburban areas of Simpsonville, and left an additional 29 homes destroyed and almost 100 more damaged. Additionally, at least 500 vehicles were totaled as well, as it left a path just over 6 miles long. One fatality and at least 53 injuries, 1 fatality and 11 injuries in Maulding, and despite no deaths in Simpsonville, at least 42 additional injuries were caused there. Along its path, it was up to only 200 metres wide, and would be one of at least 8 different tornadoes to strike any part of the Greenville-Spartanburg Combined Statistical Area, and one of 3 notable twisters in that area. Simpsonville-Five Forks-Greenville/Spartanburg International Airport, SC Tornado tornado A large and violent tornado formed near the town of Simpsonville over fairly open plains. For the first couple of miles, it caused EF0 damage, with winds only being up to 61mph at those points, but it rapidly intensified at around 7:15 AM. Within only 2 minutes, it transformed from a photogenic but weak rope extremely low-end EF0 all the way up to 100-metre stovepipe EF2 tornado, rotating at around 115 to 120 miles per hour at that point. It hit multiple suburban areas just outside of Simpsonville just after crossing SC 418, and was confirmed to be of EF2 strength at that point. It quickly intensified and enlarged itself, then hitting the official city limits at low EF3 strength, rotated at around 140 miles per hour at that point. It then caused major damage to many suburban areas while crossing SC Route 14 and then Interstate 385, and suddenly turned into a large stovepipe tornado now nearly 1/2 of a mile wide. The entire downtown area of Simpsonville was then destroyed, with high-end EF3 damage done to most of the areas hit in Simpsonville. Shortly after hitting downtown, it then hit the town of Five Forks, causing low-end EF4 damage in multiple areas around town. Many homes were entirely destroyed in Five Forks, and it then turned slightly north-northeast. Major damage was caused for the rest of its path before it weakened into an EF3 when it hit the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. Multiple hangars were entirely twisted and/or destroyed, with many other structures and planes were almost defoliated. Hundreds of injuries occurred in the airport alone. The tornado finally died out after 16 minutes of terror for the three notable locations. It left at least 633 homes destroyed, more than 2,000+ damaged, killed three people and injured over 550 others--459 from the airport. More than $275 million in damage was confirmed from the tornado, and it was one of the strongest tornadoes to ever hit within a 10-mile radius of a metropolitan area in South Carolina. Enochville-Kannapolis, NC This tornado formed just over 2 miles north of the town of Enochville, moving southeast at approximately 55 miles per hour, and quickly intensified soon before hitting town. It caused high-end EF2 damage in Enochville, and a small amount of low-end EF3 damage. At least 22 homes were destroyed, with 137 homes severely damaged. It then hit the southwestern parts of Kannapolis, where multiple subdivisions sustained severe damage, with more than 200 homes destroyed, nearly 1,000 damaged overall. The tornado died out just near the Kannapolis city limits, after tracking 8.2 miles, and leaving a path between 1/3 and 1/2 of a mile wide. Despite the warning latency times at 29 minutes before the tornado formed, at least four people were killed, WIPCategory:Violent Tornadoes Category:Violent Outbreaks Category:Deadly Outbreaks